A pair of global health crises – one past, one present – will be the focus of this year's October 20 and 27 presentations in the annual Frieze Lecture Series, with the Rock Island Public Library hosting informative, insightful, and illuminating virtual programs delivered by lauded professors at Augustana College.

What part of yourself must you hide or bury for another to survive? This question is at the core of the Figge Art Museum's new exhibition T.J. Dedeaux-Norris Presents the Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris, a showcase of the (living) University of Iowa assistant professor's work, and an exhibit (on display through January 31) designed to explore the complex legacy of an artist’s identity after their passing.

In lieu of hosting in-person events for its fall presentations in the annual program PASS (Performing Arts Signature Series), Quad City Arts invites music lovers, on October 15, to a special virtual dinner party and concert with gifted steel-pan drummer John Patti, an at-home experience featuring a performance by the previous 2017 Visiting Artist recorded specifically for Quad City Arts patrons.

With the Orange Country Register calling the production “electrifying” and the Los Angeles Times labeling it “the most unique tribute show in decades,” the touring sensation Beatles vs. Stones: A Musical Showdown makes its long-awaited area debut on October 20, filling the Davenport venue with some of the most electrifying and beloved songs made famous by two of history's most iconic bands.

Hosted by Davenport's German American Heritage Center, the virtual October 18 presentation The Journey to Mollie's War: WACs & WWII will bring deserved attention to the many brave military women during World War II – an online program delivered by 2020 Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Cyndee Schaffer, whose mother Mollie serves as the event's chief inspiration.

On display in celebration of the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, Davenport's Figge Art Museum will showcase larger-than-life Catrinas – iconic skeletal images commemorating the event – throughout the venue from October 20 through November 3, along with a Day of the Dead altar that will be on view in the Quad City Bank & Trust Grand Lobby.

Delivered as part of the Davenport Public Library's virtual 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library and Museum programming, noted historian and author Jeffrey B. Miller will present the October 15 Zoom webinar Heroism and Humanity Behind German Lines, sharing insights on the World War I Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB), Herbert Hoover's humanitarian efforts, and the young idealists who interrupted their lives to serve the CRB for no pay.

Natural depictions of American subjects will soon be on glorious display at the Figge Art Museum, as the Davenport venue showcases noted 20th-century artists and their timeless works in New American Scene: Recent Acquisitions to the Figge Collection, the latest Gildehaus Gallery exhibition on view through March 7.

Outdoor views of Bettendorf will soon be admired and enjoyed in the great indoors of a Bettendorf venue, with the Beréskin Gallery & Art Academy, from October 2 through 30, housing its new exhibition Paint the River: Fourth-Annual Plein Air Paint Out a collection of works by local artists all created outside, and all executed on subject matter set within the boundaries of Bettendorf.

If Halloween is approaching, it must be time for that annual theatrical command: “Let's do the 'Time Warp' again!” Consequently, the Circa '21 Speakeasy will stage its fifth-annual presentation of the cult-musical smash The Rocky Horror Show from October 3 through 31, treating audiences to live performances of classic songs in this nutty, interactive experience.

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